Traveling with a reactive puppy
3000 miles, 7 hotels, 6 National Parks, 2 campgrounds, busy cities, major tourist attractions, all with a reactive dog
First of all it’s important to say that not all reactivity is the same, and while Julia is reactive, it’s an easier type for us to deal with. She is not afraid of the things she reacts to, she is excited by them. They trigger her by exciting her and then frustrating her when she can’t instantly resolve that excitement. Her reactive triggers are now down to just dogs or very fast moving things (cars, motorcycles, bikes, etc) with dogs being the biggest trigger (she will react to all dogs, but only some fast moving things). She is triggered because she wants to engage with them and is not able to, we did have loose dogs run up to her and she was not only fine but like YAY, finally. She is also little, which makes management a lot easier and makes others feel less threatened by her so it’s not nearly as stressful as it is with a bigger dog that people judge you more harshly for having.
This photo is a great example of the difference between a reactive dog and a neutral dog’s ability to rest. Julia only truly rested in the hotel room or tent. Where Leo was able to truly sleep just about anywhere.
Things we do while traveling to make it easier on her and us:
We researched ahead of time to find places to stay where things would be easier to manage. For example when we visited Santa Cruz we picked a hotel that was away from the chaos of the beachfront, that had very easy places for her to walk without seeing dogs or cars, in a place that allowed her to fully rest.
When we reserved campsites we looked for the ones on the edges away from the action.
We planned the trip with breaks from the busy cities and busy parks with quieter more remote areas so she could decompress.
When checking into hotels we requested rooms that were close to exit doors so it was easier to get her out.
We always had a plan, if the hotel only had valet parking we stopped first and organized things so I could just easily get the dogs out.
I set up her crate with access to quick crate covers to use when in busy areas.
We ended up having to sacrifice certain things, like choosing to sit in our car and eat take out when the patio area would be too much for her.
At each place we visited I used google to find parks that allowed dogs or used Sniffspot to find places where the dogs could stretch out away from all the action.
When visiting National Parks we always visited either early in the morning, starting before Sunrise, or later in the evening so we could both avoid big crowds and also have cooler temps for the dogs.
I prioritized her mental health over experiences and/or photos, etc. Many times Michael would say “should we try to get a photo of Julia here” and the only time I said let’s do it, was when the conditions were right and many times we abandoned the situation as soon as we saw she was getting worked up.
For the collaborations we did with hotels, it’s clear Leo was the model for the job, Julia only joining in photoshoots when she opted in.
One of us was ALWAYS with her! She either went with us or one of us stayed with her. Many times I would stay with the dogs at camp or in the hotel so she could rest and Michael would go explore, or the other way around. This way she was not sitting in the car getting trigger stacked seeing dogs walk by, or getting anxious staying in a new place.
I prioritized her rest! This was not easy with my must see and do everything husband. One of the things that was interesting to see, even on big travel days when they were in their crates in the car for most of the day, they were still tired at the end of the day, so while you might assume oh well they spent all day sleeping because they were in their crates, they don’t full rest.
As the busy days stack up, the management needs to step up. Even Leo who can handle with ease walking through hundreds of people in huge crowds, I can see as he gets tired he becomes more concerned about things he would normally not even notice. So after a busy day we made sure to give her more space and seek out quitered areas to walk.
The dogs set the pace. If they need a decompression walk, we are seeking out a quiet park instead of a tourist attraction. If they are spent, I am eating in the room so they can sleep, even if I am surrounded by world class restaurants that allow dogs.
We advocate for them! On a daily basis people asked if they could pet the dogs, I always said “you can pet Leo the golden, Julia may or may not be into it” 9 out of 10 times she would move in for attention to join Leo as she loves people, but I never said yes, I let her decide. When we did things like the train ride, we were in line and on both sides of us were toddlers that could not stand still that kept shrieking with excitement and I said to Michael “nope” and I moved to the end of the line and asked a group of quiet adults if we could smoosh between them, which they excitedly agreed to. When people headed towards us with their dogs to say hi, we said no thanks and moved away and otfen Michael just scooped her up in his arms. (again she is excited not afraid).
We let go of perfect. I accepted that she was going to likely backslide a bit on her dog reactivity as we really pushed her limits. So yes, she sometimes reacted to dogs. When we stayed in LA the hotel was one block from a dog park, and the park next to the dog park was the only grass to be found. So yes, she was over stimulated every time we took her out to potty. Again, if she was afraid that could be very devasting to reactivity training, but since she is just super excited it wasn’t causing any long term damage.
There was so much good! She got so much more confident and comfortable with people! She LOVED exploring and investigating and it really expanded her world. She was comfortable with walking on new surfaces, hearing all sorts of new sounds, seeing all sorts of people, her environmental confidence shot up. She got so much better about cars, motorcycles, skateboards, etc.
I have a reflective space blanket and magnets, anytime we stopped I was able to cover her side of the car to not only keep the car cooler, but also cut down her vision to triggers.
I had a huge stash of chews for her to help bring her energy back to more balance after very exciting days. First thing we did in the campground was set up the dog spot and give them a chewy as we set up camp.
We worked as a team, if we saw dogs we would put Leo as the buffer as we passed so she could see him calmly passing. I would let him know when there were dogs or fast moving things coming so Michael had time to get treats ready.
We always made sure to have treats on us and ready.
I bring familiar things from home, I put the same sheet or blanket from home on all of the hotel beds and on our sleeping bags in the tent. I brought their favorite toys that smell like home.
You notice Nick is not along for this trip. Part of being a guardian for a dog with big feelings is knowing when something is truly a benefit for a dog or not. Nick CAN do all of these things, we can bring him, he can manage, however there is really little about a trip like this that he would enjoy. He is not a fan of meeting strangers, he doesn’t like so much time being leashed and physically controlled, stress increases his tremor disorder. Nick LOVES the people we leave him with and honestly acts like he’s going to the best sleep away camp. He is so much happier and less stressed being cared for at home.
Julia is still so young and insecure, and she sees me and Leo as her safe space, so I felt like she would be a lot more comfortable and less stressed going with us rather than being left. I also understand her issues are mostly related to her excitement and that more experience will help her. Taking a reactive dog on a trip changes a lot about how you can explore and what you can do, but it can be done. But know that you also don’t have to! Many reactive dogs are so much happier being left with people they love rather than going with you.
Also know that even if you don’t have a dog with big feelings that travel can bring that out!! As a dog gets tired they can have emotional reactions to things they are normally ok with. Just like us, dogs can get tired and cranky, and if you keep putting them in stressful situations you can create negative associations to things that then stay with them as fears. So if you recognize your dog starting to get more sensitive use these same tips! You can still advocate for a friendly happy dog when you can see they are tired and don’t need to say hello to someone. Our neutral dogs need just as much rest and consideration as our dogs with big feelings!